December when there is no angel

 

Tenshi no Inai 12-gatsu is a beautiful game. Each route tackles realistic issues in a serious way. I like how mature sex is treated, the MC is very much focused on sex but he doesn't come off as a degenerate, just a horny teen guy. All girls are written like they could be real people and you can see their emotion and complexity, even when they say one thing you know they're hurting inside and it's just their way of coping.

First route I got to was surprisingly Maho, for the longest time I was pretty sure I was on Touko's route and so far it's my favorite (as of writing this I still have one route left). I really liked how it doesn't only focus on Maho but on Touko as well for quite some time. It shows how she's hurt over MC caring for Maho even as a sister. I'm glad this route doesn't end romantically and says at the end how they still care more about people they broke up with. This route feels the most complete to me, in no way do I feel like something's missing, every character's arc feels complete and you can only imagine how they continue to live with their issues. Bonus points for how much we got to know here about Emiri and that as a secondary character she still has her own problems and story. Another thing that stood out to me in this route was acknowledgment that sex isn't everything and its importance in relationships. Not knowing what you want and how pressured to get it over with one might feel.

Sakaki's route is my least favorite. I still think it's really interesting and Sakaki is a very complex character. The reason why it's my least favorite route is because it feels uncomplete to me. It could've been more developed both her relationship with MC and emotions towards Touko. Not in her route but the scene where she breaks down after learning about Touko's relationship with mc shows really well how much she cares about her, how much Touko is her anchor in life and how she needs her way more than Touko needs her (despite it seemingly the other way around at first), how she depended her entire future on Touko.

Touko deserves so much more. After having sex with MC she seems more happy. Changes entirely in how she acts and talks. It's the only thing that makes her feel loved and cared for, like she's worth anything even if it's just for her body. Despite or because of that exactly she wants more, she develops feelings for MC and wants him to do more for her even if she doesn't say it. Personally I don't think MC really only cares about sex, it feels more like he surpresses his other feelings, it's easier to pretend you only care about that, why bother thinking deeper about those things. Love is never easy.

Asuna's route at first seems the least intense. Asuna is easy going, teasing and takes initiative as she's older. Her family life isn't the best as her parents are divorced and they aren't interested in her very much, other than that everything is pretty much alright untill she gets mad at Emiri wants to take a picture of Asuna. From then it leads us to learn about her past. Fucking Tachibana tells us that Asuna used to prostitue herself. All heroine turn to sex as a way to cope with whatever problems they have. I think it's important to talk about those things, the way some females glorify sex work and treat it as a great easy job and recommend it to young girls is messed up. No matter how much one may like sex most turn to sex work as a necessity for all the wrong reasons. It's saddening to see how they throw their dignity away and don't respect themselves and they too deserve stability and love. Asuna pushes MC away at first after he learns the truth and it may not be easy but he accepts her even after that.

TenInai starts with MC questioning the meaning in life and how he just drifts through it mindlessly and I'm glad that it focuses more on that aspect in Yukio's route. It all starts when MC finds out about her suicidal tendencies. Life doesn't have any meaning, every person has different values and prorities. When hurt ending it may seem like the best option. Isolating yourself and turning everyone away is a way to avoid being hurt by others. After losing her childhood dog Yukio shuts herself away from everything. There's no happiness for her and connecting with someone will just hurt eventually when they're no longer. I'm always drawn to these themes in fiction after being suicidal most of my teen years. There's something comforting in the way Yukio talks openly about death and her route was a great closing point for this VN. Ending with Yukio and MC's failed double suicide attempt we don't know if and how they find meaning in life and grow as people.

Again very much welcome tie in with Emiri's character. She plays an important role in Yukio's story wanting exactly what Yukio fears - connection.